Introduction

[Marlene Portalatin]

Hello everyone,

I am an unschooler in NYC, and will be moving to Sarasota, Fl. at the end of the month. I am looking forward to meeting new families. I guess figuring out what the hs'ing laws are there is my first priority. Any help and info would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you all.

[Meredith]

There's a Florida Unschoolers group in the "groups" section if you want to ask there. Also there are some Florida groups listed here:

http://sandradodd.com/world#us

[Marlene Portalatin]

Thank you Meridith for the information :)

[Karen Angstadt]

Hi Marlene! Good luck with your upcoming move. Here is a link to a summary of FL homeschooling laws. http://www.floridaschoolchoice.org/information/home_education/FAQs.asp

 

You asked about the FL Unschoolers yahoo group on another post, and having seen your question here, I felt I should probably give a little more information. Florida Unschoolers is the name of an umbrella school that helps unschoolers meet the requirements of private school students (no portfolio review needed) without the testing that many other umbrella schools require.

 

There are many unschooling groups for connecting, but that specific yahoo group is for families with students who are officially enrolled as private school students of FU. If you prefer not to use the umbrella school option (we don't use it), one other option is to keep a portfolio that includes samples of your students' work to submit to an evaluator (unschool friendly if possible) who would then sign a statement that your students are making adequate progress for the year. Testing is another option, but our family doesn't prefer this.

 

There are lots of fun things to see and do on FL's west coast. We'll be visiting there sometime this year, as my girls are very excited about seeing Winter the dolphin from the movie A Dolphin Tale, who lives in Clearwater. We'll also be visiting Weeki Wachi (not sure of the spelling of this) to see the "real live" mermaids.

 

The FL Unschoolers Group here on RU has helped us get together with other local families for fun days, and hopefully you'll meet some folks with whom you'll enjoy spending time.

Best of luck.

[Marlene Portalatin]

Thank you so much Karen for the responses! I "get it now!"
You have piqued my interest on the "real" Mermaids trip... must check it out :)

Once again...thank you for helping me sort this out. My move is only 4 days away... YAY!! :)

[Karen Angstadt]

Here is a link: http://weekiwachee.com/
Good luck with your move. We're moving Saturday too, but a local move this time. I can't imagine the work of a long distance move with kids, I'm so stressed just moving 4 minutes away. So I'll be sure to send some positive vibes your way.

[Marlene Portalatin]

Thanks so much for the good wishes & link (my 11 yr old 'Merchild' reeeeally appreciated it!). Reciprocating the good vibes to you and yours!